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looking to relocate from staten island. couple in our 30's/ hoping to have kids soon.
I work in Manhattan, the wife in Staten Island.
budget is around 450K(pref a bit under that)
all our families are in Staten Island or Brooklym so we would like to stay somewhre close by. plus with my commute it helps the closer I am to the city.
I was wondering if anyone could recommend some neighborhoods in these counties.
I know the S/E Brunswick schools are great and that the taxes are abit high in certain areas but I figure the taxes offset my having to pay for private school here in NY. would like something under 10k for taxes. Obviously the higher the taxes the lower my budget is.
have a few friends in NJ and they all recommend Old Bridge.
One of them was adamant against Sayerville citing resale value would be hard to maintain and that the area was on the decline.
I loved the houses in plainfield but I know the area is craptastic.
and that concludes the section of my knowledge of NJ outside of LBI haha
so, any recommendations in middlesex and northern monmouth(or even somewhere else near the outer/goethels bridges) would be fantastic.
looking to relocate from staten island. couple in our 30's/ hoping to have kids soon.
I work in Manhattan, the wife in Staten Island.
budget is around 450K(pref a bit under that)
all our families are in Staten Island or Brooklym so we would like to stay somewhre close by. plus with my commute it helps the closer I am to the city.
I was wondering if anyone could recommend some neighborhoods in these counties.
I know the S/E Brunswick schools are great and that the taxes are abit high in certain areas but I figure the taxes offset my having to pay for private school here in NY. would like something under 10k for taxes. Obviously the higher the taxes the lower my budget is.
have a few friends in NJ and they all recommend Old Bridge.
One of them was adamant against Sayerville citing resale value would be hard to maintain and that the area was on the decline.
I loved the houses in plainfield but I know the area is craptastic.
and that concludes the section of my knowledge of NJ outside of LBI haha
so, any recommendations in middlesex and northern monmouth(or even somewhere else near the outer/goethels bridges) would be fantastic.
thanks in advance
I think everyone who currently lives in Middletown originally came from Staten Island.
I'm exaggerating, of course, but there are a LOT of former SI-ers and Brooklynites, as well, in Middletown.
This is further reinforced by my driving back from North Jersey on the GSP last night and noting the long line of cars crawling north toward Exit 127 to get over the Outerbridge. This is the usual sight every holiday.
Hazlet, next to Middletown, is also a good choice. Family town, in your budget, easy access to the GSP. Also has a train station on the North Jersey Coast Line.
I think everyone who currently lives in Middletown originally came from Staten Island.
I'm exaggerating, of course, but there are a LOT of former SI-ers and Brooklynites, as well, in Middletown.
This is further reinforced by my driving back from North Jersey on the GSP last night and noting the long line of cars crawling north toward Exit 127 to get over the Outerbridge. This is the usual sight every holiday.
Hazlet, next to Middletown, is also a good choice. Family town, in your budget, easy access to the GSP. Also has a train station on the North Jersey Coast Line.
haha. yea i have 4 or 5 friends in the area and know A LOT more Staten Islanders that are there as well.
Hazlet is right near 36 if Im not mistaken. was told to try to stayn as far away from 36 as possible. guy didnt give me a reason, was just a follow up text to a conversation we had.
whats wrong with being near 36?
haha. yea i have 4 or 5 friends in the area and know A LOT more Staten Islanders that are there as well.
Hazlet is right near 36 if Im not mistaken. was told to try to stayn as far away from 36 as possible. guy didnt give me a reason, was just a follow up text to a conversation we had.
whats wrong with being near 36?
and thanks to everyone for the info
I don't know why a person would specifically tell you to stay away from 36 without qualification.
In some areas of Middletown (which is a huge township broken down into a number of areas that vary widely from "white trash" to Jon Bon Jovi-multi-millionaire land), living on the side of Route 36 closer to the water is considered not desirable. It's often referred to as "the wet side" due to its low-lying areas and tendency to flood. The town of Keansburg is entirely on "the wet side" of 36 and due to other issues is also not the most desirable place to live. This may be what your friend referred to. There is also some real estate along 36 that would be way out of your price range and that of most ordinary working people.
Also, the FEMA flood maps were redrawn a year or two ago. I believe that some parts of Hazlet are now included in the high-risk flood zones, and those areas are probably also on the wrong side of 36. I bought a condo in Eatontown a year and a half ago. My second choice was a complex in Hazlet just off of the western side of 36. I would have been happy to live there, but the complex was having financial issues so I knocked that one out of the box. There were a lot of nice medium-sized affordable homes with yards in that neighborhood.
I don't have the link on this computer, but there is a FEMA flood-zone map online in which you type in the address of a property and it comes back with whether it is high or low risk for flooding. That could make a difference in a decision, as any mortgage company would require you to buy flood insurance for a high-risk property. And of course, you would be in danger of actual damage to your home and possessions from flooding!
In Middlesex County, Edison, Woodbridge, North Brunswick, South Brunswick, Monroe, Old Bridge and Aberdeen/Matawan all have houses within your price range and the schools in these towns range from good to better-than-average. I taught in Old Bridge for two years and thought it was a good community and nice group of people, but it is rather large. I would scratch Sayreville off the list at this point. It USED TO be a nice town but has gone downhill a lot over the last 15 years or so. Parts of this town are very old and a lot of the multi-generation "townies" are dying off and being replaced by elements on the lower ends of the spectrum.
East Brunswick, Highland Park, Metuchen and West Windsor-Plainsboro have the best school districts in the area, but these towns are more expensive so $450K I think would really be stretching it, you will either get a handyman's fixer upper or end up in the low end of town.
The towns in Monmouth County I am less familiar with. Holmdel I think has the best schools and it is a nice area, but again good luck finding something decent there for $450K. Middletown and Hazlet are fine. Middletown is rather large and has lots of different areas. Seems a bit far from the city, and Rt 35 through there is a mess and you seem to always catch every single traffic light. You do have the Garden State Parkway through there too, which is better for commuting.
You might want to check out Ocean Twp (Oakhurst/Wanamassa). Its school system is very good from what I hear and certainly more affordable than Holmdel. You also have easy access to the Parkway and the highway part of Rt 18. You are not far from the beach either and have lots of other amenities close by too.
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